Heel for footwear



y 1948. A. H. KERNGOOD HEELS FOR FOOTWEAR Filed May 25, 1946 a z E "2 ZI 24 IyJQ INVENTOR. d lien fif/lerqyaod,

Patented July 6, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HEEL FOR FOOTWEARAllenH. Kerngood, Baltimore, Md.

Application May 25, 1946, Serial No; 672,254

This invention relates to heels for shoes, boots and other footwear.

Uneven wear of heels on shoes, boots, etc., is highly prevalent, andmany expediencies have been devised for correcting or counteracting thisuneven wear. These expediencies include studs, plates and other objectsof varying configuration, made of material possessing greater resistanceto wear and generally harder than the main body of the heel and disposedat selected locations in the body of the heel where greatest wear of theheel takes place. In these prior heels, the harder material has atendency to break away from the softer material unless nailed orotherwise firmly secured by prongs or screws. The various fasteningmeans have proved to be unsatisfactory and objectionable.

Among the objects of this invention is the provision of a heel forshoes, boots, etc., with wearresisting element firmly secured in and tothe heel.

A further object of this invention is to provide a rubber heel whereinthe wear-resisting element is a strip or plate of wear-resisting metal,curved to conform to the heel and adhesively secured to the rubber inorder to adequately resist separation therefrom.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a rubberheel with a metal strip or plate as aforesaid, said strip or platehaving a configuration so that the rear part is substantially at thethread face of the heel, from which the plate preferably tapers inwardlybelow the surface of the heel.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a novelwear-resisting element for use in heels of rubber composition.

Other, further and more specific objects of this invention will becomereadily apparent to persons skilled in the art from a consideration ofthe following description when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmental side elevation of a shoe provided with novelheel, a portion of the heel being broken away to illustrate the internalconstruction.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the heel shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the curved strip or plate of hardenedmetal constituting the wear-resisting element of my heel.

Fig. 4 is a cross section through the crested middle of the plate shownin Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a cross section through the middle of 3 Claims. (01. 36-45) amodified form of plate servin as the 'wearresisting element.

Fig. 6 is a section through the middle portion of another modificationof wear-resisting element.

Fig. '7 is a section through a heel showing the wear-resisting elementdisposed entirely below the outer face of the heel.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a metal blank from which another modificationof my wear-resisting element is formed. 7

The heel forming my invention comprises the body 2 made of a suitablerubber composition commonly employed in the art and havin thevwear-resisting plate or strip 4 adhesively secured to the rubber.resisting metal having a thickness of ,5 to and is vulcanized to thebody 2 by any process well known to the art. The body 2 is made ofrubber composition, the rubber of which is preferably vulcanized. Thewear-resisting strip or plate 4 is positioned in the heel prior tomolding and vulcanization.

The band or plate 4 is curved to conform to the rounded portion of theheel and is disposed approximately from the edge of the heel. The plate4 extends into the heel to a level 6 so that at least /8 inch of rubbercomposition separates the plate from the outer face 8 of heel. Thisplate 4 is preferably provided with lugs I0 disposed in substantiallythe same plane, which are set in the heel and afford proper bearingsupport in substantially the same plane and also anchoring means for theplate. In Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and '7 these lugs are shown substantially atright angles to the plate or strip 4. Lugs l2 of U-shape, shown inFigures 5 and 6, or of other configuration may also be employed, and if,desired, intermediate lugs l4 may be provided (as shown on Fig. 6) inaddition to the middle lug and end lugs shown in the plates illustratedin the other views.

An important feature of this invention is the novel configuration of theplate or strip 4 of hard, wear-resisting metal. This plate is crested atthe middle portion IS, the depth gradually receding or tapering towardthe ends l8 and 20. When this plate 4 is positioned in the heel as shownin Fig. 1, the crest I6 will substantially reach the tread face 22 ofthe heel. From this deepest portion of the plate 4, the edge of theplate recedes inwardly to provide a gradually increasing cushion ofrubber composition between the plate 4 and the surface of the heel. Withthis construction of heel, there is afforded not only This plate It ismade of wearthe wear-resisting element to forestall run down heels, butthere is also provided the cushioning material for promotion of muchcomfort to the wearer.

In Fig. 8, which shows the wear-resisting plate 5 plateandgires'tdn-i'the heel, asein Figi 1; 10

notches 26 will also be filled with rubber composition, which providesadditional means fon... retaining the wear-resisting element in theheel.

It is to be understood that the number andjloca r-' tion of the lugs andnotches may .be './ariecl.,i'-o, ,15

' the extremities of the plate. This modification has beenfoundgparticularly v meet the particular needs and fancy of'the' user."

adaptable to heels of soft rubber composition.

To increase adherence of the plate to the rub-- ber composition, one orboth of the walls of the 20 plate may be roughenedprior to itsvulcanization to the rubber composition oi the heeli' 'Theexpressionrubber composition as used in thespecification' andcla'imsisintended to' ponent is natural rubber, artificial rubber and/ormixtures-ofboth.

The present invention is not limited to the spe-- cificdetails-set'forth in the foregoing examples which should be construed'asillustrative and 301 not by way of limitation, andin' viewof thenumerous modifications which maybeeffected therein" without departingfrom the-spirit and scope of 'this invention, it is desired that onlysuch'limitationsbe imposed as are indicated in" -Number.

theappended claims.

I claim as my invention: 1; A'wear-resisting element for heels for foot-4 wear, said wear-resisting element comprising a crested plate ofwear-resisting material curved to conform to the curved edge of a heel,the bottom of the plate being in substantially the same plane and thetop edge of the plate having an intermediate high portion and recedingfrom said high portion toward the extremities of the plate.

2.,.A,wear-re sisting element .for..heels for footwear, saidWear-resistingz element comprising a crested plate of Wear-resistingmaterial curved to (conform to the curved edge of a heel, the bottom ofthe plate being in substantially the same planeieandithe top edge of theplate gradually recedingjromi a high point in the center towardBRA'vheeI fOr iQQtWear, said heel comprising a body of rubbercomposition with an imbedded wear-resisting element, said elementcomprising a crested plate of iwear-resisting material curved to'conformto the -curved:'edge. -of the heel, the bottom of the plate ibeing in.substantiallywthe same plane 2 and the top edge-oirthe plateihaving anintermediate high-portionutandvi include compositions wherein theelastic com- 25g receding from* said high portion towardtthe exe-Jtremities of the plate:

ALLEN H KERNGOOU;

REFERENCES CITED- l The following: references are of recompil -the NameDate 663,865 Comingor Dee. '18;:1900:v 1,491,550 Ross v Apr:-;22; :l92d%1,159,972

Maltby; N DIV: 9;.191'5

